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I think a lot of people have felt edged out due to cliques (or even just the perception of cliques) at one point or another. I don't think this is an uncommon feeling at all - but I also don't feel right blaming any one event or any one person for it. I think it all has to do with the atmosphere, and knowing that every single other RPer out there comes into role-play with their own set of difficulties and struggles. In this case, an individual's struggle may have been the chat scroll, or their own social anxiety, or yes, they may have been using the event for a night with established contacts without a particular desire to expand their social circle.
The frustration in feeling ignored is real. But I think the best advice I can give is to pay attention to the type of event you're attending. Large, freeform RP events (or locations) may not be the best venue to establish lasting IC contacts. They're wonderful for the environment and the event runners still put a lot of time and effort into them, but if you're looking for a guaranteed interaction, it just may not be the right venue. I've heard this frustration with events many times before: going to a large event, being ignored, and then swearing off events 5ever. I recommend to not do this!
Depending on what you're looking for (in this case, a 'guaranteed' RP), there are many events that could scratch this itch. If you enter any sort of tournament as a contender, you'll be facing off against another in a one-on-one bout, at the very least. Additionally, the Secret Scenario Santa seemed like a good one for guaranteed fun. The recent Friendly Date Auction also seemed like a good bet for a guaranteed hook. Heck, my own linkshell's monthly Host Club is 100% focused around pairing Guests up with their very own Host/Hostess and saying "have fun, kids!" (The only caveat for the Host Club is that Guests who arrive like 1-2 hours late sometimes find that there are no Hosts left, as they've all been taken up by that point.)
I'm someone who has a hard time with chat scroll, even if the group is as small as like 4 people, so I always consider that when thinking of which events I can go to. I'd never recommend swearing off events - especially if you're still looking to establish some contacts - but I might recommend thinking about the sort of event that would benefit your goals the most.
I'll also go ahead and echo that changing characters/fantasia'ing often can make it hard for players to invest in your character. An unfortunate thing I've seen is that someone will start to establish great hooks and blossoming friendships with Character A, and then switch to Character B and expect all of those IC hooks and friendships to still carry over. But from your RP partner's perspective, it's like hitting a massive DELETE button on every interaction you've had together up to that point. It starts you back from square one, and unless you feel there's a very good reason to do it (such as getting away from some very thick drama), it almost always seems to be self-sabotaging.
As a follow-up suggestion to making contacts, I'd check out some linkshells. Read up on what they're like both ICly and OoCly, and heck, try them out! Assuming you already have a FC, I'd hit up some linkshells to supplement your RP. Just like with events, I'd approach them with an equally discerning eye, to see what might be the best fit for what you're looking for.
Best of luck!
Edit: Ah dang, the OP is already gone from this thread. Maia the Slow is too slow again.
Hopefully there's still someone out there who can use these suggestions to break through the perceived "clique wall", anyway!
The frustration in feeling ignored is real. But I think the best advice I can give is to pay attention to the type of event you're attending. Large, freeform RP events (or locations) may not be the best venue to establish lasting IC contacts. They're wonderful for the environment and the event runners still put a lot of time and effort into them, but if you're looking for a guaranteed interaction, it just may not be the right venue. I've heard this frustration with events many times before: going to a large event, being ignored, and then swearing off events 5ever. I recommend to not do this!
Depending on what you're looking for (in this case, a 'guaranteed' RP), there are many events that could scratch this itch. If you enter any sort of tournament as a contender, you'll be facing off against another in a one-on-one bout, at the very least. Additionally, the Secret Scenario Santa seemed like a good one for guaranteed fun. The recent Friendly Date Auction also seemed like a good bet for a guaranteed hook. Heck, my own linkshell's monthly Host Club is 100% focused around pairing Guests up with their very own Host/Hostess and saying "have fun, kids!" (The only caveat for the Host Club is that Guests who arrive like 1-2 hours late sometimes find that there are no Hosts left, as they've all been taken up by that point.)
I'm someone who has a hard time with chat scroll, even if the group is as small as like 4 people, so I always consider that when thinking of which events I can go to. I'd never recommend swearing off events - especially if you're still looking to establish some contacts - but I might recommend thinking about the sort of event that would benefit your goals the most.
I'll also go ahead and echo that changing characters/fantasia'ing often can make it hard for players to invest in your character. An unfortunate thing I've seen is that someone will start to establish great hooks and blossoming friendships with Character A, and then switch to Character B and expect all of those IC hooks and friendships to still carry over. But from your RP partner's perspective, it's like hitting a massive DELETE button on every interaction you've had together up to that point. It starts you back from square one, and unless you feel there's a very good reason to do it (such as getting away from some very thick drama), it almost always seems to be self-sabotaging.
As a follow-up suggestion to making contacts, I'd check out some linkshells. Read up on what they're like both ICly and OoCly, and heck, try them out! Assuming you already have a FC, I'd hit up some linkshells to supplement your RP. Just like with events, I'd approach them with an equally discerning eye, to see what might be the best fit for what you're looking for.
Best of luck!
Edit: Ah dang, the OP is already gone from this thread. Maia the Slow is too slow again.
Hopefully there's still someone out there who can use these suggestions to break through the perceived "clique wall", anyway!